Staff

Heather Franzese
Director

Heather Franzese has been working for over 12 years to improve the lives of vulnerable farmers and workers in global supply chains. Last year, she launched Fair Trade USA’s Fair Trade Certified™ Apparel & Linens program in the US, a new way for consumers to vote with their dollars for an alternative to sweatshops. Heather brings together industry experience managing CSR for Columbia Sportswear Company’s licensed and collegiate categories, a fundraising track record of channeling $4 million in social impact philanthropy to Fair Trade certification, and field experience working with small-scale farmers in Peace Corps Mali. She holds an MPP in Political and Economic Development from Harvard Kennedy School.

Tom Rausch
Program Manager

Tom joined the organization in March 2011 to accelerate and upscale our Labor Link program. Tom is a global citizen that has lived and worked on three continents. Most recently, as Pride Africa’s Regional Director for East Africa, he designed and implemented an ICT solution that improved interaction between key actors in Kenya’s agriculture sector. The role earned Tom several accolades and led to the creation of a for-profit firm based on the solution. He also was involved in agribusiness management, fairtrade development, farmer education and microfinance during his time in East Africa. Previously, Tom specialized in national security and, while situated in Washington, DC, acted as an expert consultant to the White House. He holds degrees from the London School of Economics and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Audrey Seagraves
Strategist

Audrey joined the team in January 2006 and is an expert in wage issues especially as they pertain to informal workers. She is the chair of the World Fair Trade Organization’s Monitoring and Standards Committee and is on the advisory board for Speakshop and the Social Hotspots Database Project. Audrey has received many honors for her outstanding work including being selected as a 2009 Tech Awards Laureate, a 2010 Global Social Benefit Incubator Fellow and Young Alumni of the Year from Elon University. Previously, Audrey worked as the public relations and promotions coordinator for Foreign Policy magazine (FP). She was also a recipient of the Future Leaders of the World Fellowship from the Population Institute.  A native of Atlanta, Georgia, she graduated with honors from Elon College as a double major in journalism and communications.

Soemoe Aung
Web Development Consultant

Eva Jensen
Mobile Application Consultant

Sophia Wang
Research Intern